At a time when it appears more people are in need of mental health services the number of those that can provide it is dwindling.
Local mental health officials are hoping to “spark” an interest in the mental health field as they are seeing a shortage of employees in most areas including case management, clinicians, and nursing. Prior to the pandemic there was expanded health care in the field and now they are playing catch up as the need is increasing.
Mental Health and Recovery Services Executive Director Tammie Colon explains, “We know that competing with Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland is going to be extremely difficult. So, what we are trying to do is really look within our community knowing there is a lot of people who want to advance their career and want get into this career and they don’t know it’s affordable for them.”
There will be two informational sessions on Thursday, February 24th at Ohio Means Jobs Allen County. They will cover an overview of the mental health profession, financial aid information, and possible job and internship options in the area. The sessions are open to the public starting at 9 am and 1:30 pm.
